The Faces of Belonging
Because belonging is influenced by a person’s unique perspective, it’s experienced by different people in different ways, even within the same context. So when a negative event happens, that negative event can also have different consequences depending on the student.
Click on the faces below to see how the same event can be experienced in very different ways by students from different groups.
Click on a student above
White middle-class student in school
"When I get a bad grade, I don’t feel too bad. I still feel like I can succeed and that my teachers and friends still like and respect me. "
Student of color in school
"Sometimes when I get a bad grade, I worry it will make my teacher think black students just aren’t smart. Some of my teachers seem to have lower expectations for me, because they give me false compliments about my work, even when I haven’t done very well and I know I can do better. It makes me wonder if people like me can really succeed at my school."
Girl in advanced math class
"I got a bad grade. Maybe it’s true, girls just aren’t as good at math. My mom said that she was never good at math either, so maybe I shouldn’t even bother. Do I even want to keep doing math? All the smart guys in math don’t really talk to me, maybe because they think I’m not as smart as them? I’m never going to take math again as soon as I don’t have to."